The Barrio Captains men on the move

Title

Creator

Manalo, Fred D.

Language

English

Year

1969

Subject

Governance--rural areas--Philippines

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Abstract

Public governance on rural areas in the Philippines.

Fulltext

T HE barrio is the soul of Philippine society. In its ~tructure lies the frailty or strength of our national life. Our efforts at development must necessarily include, if not begin with, the development of this basic social and government unit. We love to profess that the strength of democracy Iiea in the grassroots. The barrio is precisely the grassroots. Here are born the first intimations of nationhood, citizenship and government. Attitudes towards government and the other facets of the national enterprise are shaped and given tentative substance here. The neglected community spawns a breed of indifferent and calloused people. Thia is true with barrios as it is true with decaying sluin areas. The attitude developed in such abandoned communities is one of apathy instead of Commitment. There is a crucial note to the need for urgent development of our barrios. The greater majority of our barrios are isolated communities, separated from the national mainst .. "t!am by distance and time, brought about by lack of communications and adequate transportation. Basic services are wanting; the essential comforts of life are misaed. Years of neglect have tended many barrios to drift from the center of society instead of integrating themselTea into the national community. There are extremes to this reaction. One is of self-decay, the other is more forceful and violent. The second consequence should compel our leaders to reexamine their attitude towards the barrio. For years, national · leaders of varying colors have declared their concem for the 'barrio. They plan grandiose designs and execute masterful blueprints for the development of the nayon. Aside from a few feeder roads and artesian wells, there were little evidence of these passionate declarations. Many barrios remained stagnant and sterile as before. There have been historic development of late. One was the passage of the Decentralization Act of 1966 which provided greater autonomy for local governments. The other is the enactment of the B!lrrio Development Fund under which each barrio is entitled to a financial assistance of P2,000. The Barrio Development Fund is not a hand-out, not a form of patronage from the government. It is a contribution to the barrio for a much-needed project. The concept behind the -development program is precisely to instill and encourage the concept of self-help among the barrio folk. Under the program, the government provides the aum plus general supervision. The choice The Barrio Captain~ By FRED . D. MANALO of the project, its completion, must come from the efforts and resources of the barrio people. It is a fact that under the barrio charter, barrios receive not funds from the national government. In taxes, the barrio collects only 10 per cent of t'he real estate collected within the barrio, which is Jess than PlOO in moat places. Lucky is the barrio which is the recipient of pork barrel allocations from an expansive congressman, which may go to the construction of a feeder road or schoolhouse. Beyond this, nothing. The Barrio Development Program came on the initiative of the new breed of barrio captains who have recognized their plight and, having no means to initiate vital projects in their communities, have sought the help of President Marcos. This dialogu3 has been going on for quite a time now and which was the basis for the inclusion in the apropriations act of the barrio development fund. Under the program, it is the capitan del barrio, together with the barrio council, who chooses the project where the P2,000. will be invested. The conPAGE 4 I THE PHILIPPINE MAGAilNE I MAY 11, 1969 trol and supervision will also come from them. With this assistance, they are now in a better position to expand their leadership in community-building. This leadership is most crucial and vital. The citizen's first encounter with the process of government lies in the realm of the barrio council. The quality of the barrio council, as steered by the capitan del barrio, shapes the citizen's image of bis government ·and society. The quality of community life is ala., the responsibility of the capitanea de:l barrio and the barrio councilmen. It is their leadership and influence that greatly dictate the social-if not the economic-elimate in their environment. This means that the barrio leaders are obliged to be the exemplars in upholding values, to exercise the ethic and disciplines of the useful life. Through osmosis, aucb leadership tends to spread like a ripple, touching and influencing the lives of others, goading them to match the purposiveness and dedication of their leaders. Thia purposiveness is most evident in the rising generation of capitanea del barrio. Responding to the Pres· ident's call for New Filipinos, they are breaking new grounds for pioneering programs and are leading their barrio folk in the movement to break away from the self-defeating attitudes and habits of the past. Their vision is aimed at enriching the procesa of re· birth and self-renewal which celebrates the individual's c~pacity to overcome his environment and the accident of hia birth, to shape his own destiny through his labors. The cynics who perceive nothing but darkness h.1 our future should see this growing, glowing spark in our barrio communities. The new concern of the government for the plight of our countrymen in the far-flung regions finds a heartening duplication in the revitalized leadership in the local govern· ments. Its message is one of hope, its meaning is one of tremendous signific· ance in the over-all development of the nation. Says President Marcos: "It is quite important to notice, because without our knowing it there is a revolution going on in our midst, not only in the national government but all the way down to the roots of our political society, to the baae of our pofitical pyramid. Barrio leaders and barrio presidents from all over the country have become conscious of their duties to their people. If in tlle past you saw them complacent, inac· tive, today they are not so. They are on the move, they are aware they constitute the first line of leadership in our country." flM SECOND FILIPINO CARDINAL The Philippines got its second cardinal last May 1 when Julio Cardinal Rosales of Cebu received from Pope . Paul VI bis symbolic red skullcap and beretta, along with 32 other new appointees. The elevation to the cardinalate of Rosales came as a timely gesture, considering that the local Catholic laity is racked by a number of grave problems. The new Cardinal vowed more social action. The First Lady, Mrs. Imelda R. Marcos, was the "ninang" at the investiture of Cardinal Rosales. Mrs. Marcos and daughters Imee and Irene were received in audience by the Pope. THE PHILIPPINE MAGAZINE I MAY al, 1969 I PAGE 5

Date Issued

1(8) May 31, 1969

Media